Kobe Bryant is one of the most famous NBA players to have played the game of basketball. He sadly passed away on the 26th of January, which caused an uproar in demand for his merchandise, especially in the Sneaker Industry. As well as his legendary 20 year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, he signed a endorsement deal with Nike in 2003. With Nike, Kobe had created about 20 performance basketball sneakers, which were simple and loved by the public and players worldwide. Many companies who sell Kobe merchandise would of had a major inflow of purchases made, as fan were trying get an item representing Kobe for remembrance.
Many online marketplaces where reselling takes place such as StockX, Flight Club and GOAT, have had the most action since the death of Kobe. Within a live sneaker marketplace, the more limited the shoes are, the more they are of value. Kobe’s sneakers raised in value by 200-1000%, with more of the special sneakers reselling for the average price of $12,000 on StockX. If you thought those prices were high, there are also vintage Kobe Bryant trading cards going for $1000. These are just two of the examples of the skyrocketed prices since Kobe’s death.
After Kobe Bryant’s death there was a massive surge of Kobe’s products, leaving those who had already owner a limited pair, in power to make the most benefit. Many argued that some people were just trying to profit off his death, since the values of his products rose significantly.
Nike has reported that they had sold out of Kobe merchandise within a day of the stars death. This is as the demand was so high, people bought out all the product before they were sold out. The concept of consumer sovereignty applies here, as the preference of the consumer is what determines the production of the good and services and producers respond to those preferences for what is produced. Kobe’s merchandise is the preference of the consumer and the producer (Nike), in order to make the maximum profit should be allocating more their resources to create more of Kobe’s products. The concept of scarcity applies here as well as Nike would only have a finite amount of resources, and they would have to allocate their resources efficiently to create the most amount of products and they will have to make decisions on the production of Kobe products, some opportunity costs may arise (like producing less of one shoe).
The only concern of this is that, ethically or morally this is not correct as they would be profiting of someone’s death. So in response to that many companies like Vice (a popular sneaker and consignment boutique) are holding off on selling any Kobe products until the mourning period is over to show a sign of respect. StockX said they would donate all profits made from Kobe merchandise to the Bryant Family Foundation. It is important for business to follow business ethics as it will make long-term impacts for their profitability, productivity and organisation. This will result in the business performing well within the economy.
That’s how much of an impact the legend Kobe Bryant’s death made on the sneaker market and economy.
References:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/28/nike-sells-out-of-kobe-bryant-merchandise-online-after-death.html
https://www.gq.com/story/kobe-bryant-sneaker-legacy-nike-adidas
https://fashionista.com/2019/03/sneaker-industry-market-trends-2019
Year 11 MHS Economics 2020 
Learnt heaps about reasons for goods inflating, the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant was in this case the reason for that. Excellent blog!
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very insightful towards shoes, have you thought about how much of the market consumes kobe products compared to others? i love shoe and kobe, gouma nation baenchod
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A well written blog, showing how people attempt to profit off Kobe’s tragic death.
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Very informative, and very sad… I respect how companies such as StockX and Vice are either holding off on selling Kobe shoes or donating profits made to the Bryant Family Foundation. #RipMamba
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gouma
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